1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for supplying replenishers to automatic processors or automatic developing machines, and more particularly to delivery control of the replenishers in high-contrast processors which are used in photographic process for printing.
2. Description of Prior Arts
Recently, developer capable of high-speed development at high temperature which is called as "Rapid Access or RAS Development" has been brought into the field of high-contrast development using automatic processors. The merits of the RAS development has been appreciated, and it is often used in automatic processors.
In the RAS development, a replenisher is obtained by mixing chemicals at predetermined mixing ratios, where one of the chemicals may be a diluent. The replenisher will be deteriorated or oxidized by the air within some days after the mixture of the chemicals. Therefore, often employed is an instant mixing method in which only required amounts of chemicals are mixed on each request of replenishment, rather than a previous mixing method in which large amounts of chemicals are previously mixed and the replenisher thus obtained is stocked to be used part by part. According to the instant mixing method, previous mixing of chemicals with large tanks is not required and the instant mixing of chemicals can be carried out with small tanks for chemicals and a water pipe when the diluent is water. Consequently, the instant mixing method has become a main stream in replenishment of developer.
The mixing ratios of chemicals are not universal but depend on the kinds of the chemicals which are commercially obtainable from the manufacturers thereof. Furthermore, an amount of the replenisher which is to be supplied to the automatic processor on each request of replenishment (hereinafter called "a unit amount in replenishment") depends on the purpose of the replenishment, e.g., that for compensating aged-deterioration (anti-oxidation), used-deterioration (exhaustion) and others.
A conventional apparatus for replenishing developer is constructed so as to select the mixing ratio of chemicals within prescribed two ratios, i.e., that for high-activity replenisher and low-activity replenisher, and therefore, complex control of replenishment cannot be attained by the conventional apparatus.
Another problem in the conventional apparatus is that a predetermined unit amount of the replenisher is always supplied to the automatic processor regardless of timing relation between successive replenishments, and as a result, the chemical activity of developer in the automatic processor is sometimes undesirably increased.